News tagged with herpes simplex virus

Researchers have found that Zika virus can live in eyes and have identified genetic material from the virus in tears, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study, in mice, helps ...

Yale scientists have solved a puzzle of the immune system—how antibodies enter the nervous system to control viral infections. Their finding may have implications for the prevention and treatment of a range of conditions, ...

(HealthDay)—For older women, herpes simplex virus antibody levels are associated with incident frailty and mortality, according to a study published online April 30 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

After an injury to tissues, such as in organ transplantation, the body grows new lymphatic vessels in a process known as lymphangiogenesis. A new study in Nature Communications reveals a mechanism involved in the regulation ...

Hiding their DNA genome inside the nuclei of the infected cells, the herpes viruses establish a lifelong infection in humans. Poorly defined stress conditions are known to wake up these parasites from their latent phase and ...

When we get cold sores, the reason is likely related to stress. In particular, the neurons in which the herpes simplex virus (HSV) reside, are under stress. For the first time, researchers at the University of North Carolina ...

More than 3.7 billion people under the age of 50 are infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which commonly causes 'cold sores' and can also cause genital herpes, according to new research by the University of ...

Herpes simplex virus

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HWJ-1)
Herpes simplex virus 2 (HWJ-2)

Herpes simplex virus1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) are two species of the herpes virus family, Herpesviridae, which cause infections in humans. Eight members of herpes virus infect humans to cause a variety of illnesses including cold sores, chickenpox or varicella, shingles or herpes zoster (VZV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and various cancers, and can cause brain inflammation (encephalitis). All viruses in the herpes family produce life-long infections.

They are also called Human Herpes Virus1 and 2 (HHV-1 and HHV-2) and are neurotropic and neuroinvasive viruses; they enter and hide in the human nervous system, accounting for their durability in the human body. HSV-1 is commonly associated with herpes outbreaks of the face known as cold sores or fever blisters, whereas HSV-2 is more often associated with genital herpes.

An infection by a herpes simplex virus is marked by watery blisters in the skin or mucous membranes of the mouth, lips or genitals. Lesions heal with a scab characteristic of herpetic disease. However, the infection is persistent and symptoms may recur periodically as outbreaks of sores near the site of original infection. After the initial, or primary, infection, HSV becomes latent in the cell bodies of nerves in the area. Some infected people experience sporadic episodes of viral reactivation, followed by transportation of the virus via the nerve's axon to the skin, where virus replication and shedding occurs.

Herpes is contagious if the carrier is producing and shedding the virus. This is especially likely during an outbreak but possible at other times. There is no cure yet, but there are treatments which reduce the likelihood of viral shedding.